Members of Congress want 1-year deadline for Asian carp plan

Associated Press

February 8, 2018 6:57 pm

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. -- Some members of Congress want a one-year deadline for completing a federal study on keeping Asian carp out of the Great Lakes by strengthening defenses on a crucial Illinois waterway.

In a letter Thursday to heads of House spending committees, 26 lawmakers from Great Lakes states said the next federal budget should order the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to finish its Brandon Road Lock and Dam study by February 2019.

A draft released last year recommended a $275 million upgrade of the lock and dam near Joliet, Illinois, a choke point between the Illinois River and Lake Michigan. The river is infested with Asian carp, which could damage native fish if they become established in the lakes.

The lawmakers' letter said electric barriers and other existing protections aren't enough.